President condoles with bereaved families in China quake

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a message to China's President Xi Jingping offered his deepest condolences to the members of the bereaved families and sympathies to all those whose lives have been affected due to Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan Province of China. "At this hour of grief, the sincere thoughts and prayers of the people of Sri Lanka are with the people of China.

I wish a speedy recovery to those who are injured," the President said.

"Natural disasters and their consequences are beyond human control. Although this earthquake disaster created a sad and depressing situation, I am certain that the Chinese people will courageously face it and recover in the shortest possible time under your able leadership," President Rajapaksa added.